Students from Earl of March Secondary School Win 2023 Euro Challenge Canada
Delegation of the European Union to the United States
Press Contact:
paul.lasserre@eeas.europa.eu
May 8, 2023
Students from Earl of March Secondary School Win 2023 Euro Challenge Canada
Four High School Teams Receive Awards for Their Euro Knowledge
Students from Earl of March Secondary School in Ottawa won the final round of this year's Euro Challenge Canada competition – an academic contest for 9th and 10th grade high school students to showcase their knowledge of economics and policy-making from a European Union perspective. The runner-ups were Merivale High School (2nd place), Glebe Collegiate Institute (3rd place), and AY Jackson Secondary School (4th place).
“This competition gives you an opportunity to learn about the European Union; the Eurozone and to apply economic concepts to a specific EU Member State.,” said Ambassador of the European Union to Canada, Melita Gabrič. “You have all grasped this opportunity. Your public speaking skills are impressive, as is your knowledge of macroeconomics.”
Ambassador Gabrič congratulated the four best teams and all Euro Challenge participants for their excellent presentations. The countries of the European Union face complex challenges as they speed up the switch to renewable energy sources and address EU-wide economic implications of changes to jobs and of migration. Students demonstrated great enthusiasm and presented innovative policy recommendations on these issues. “I believe that now you are also “ambassadors” of the EU-Canadian partnership and I hope that we will continue nurturing our cooperation in the years to come.,” concluded Gabrič.
Organized by the Delegation of the European Union to Canada, this year's contest marked the 2nd edition of the Euro Challenge, an annual competition that provides high school students in Ontario and Toronto an exciting opportunity to learn about the EU and its member states from an economic perspective. Students learn first-hand about the issues in common with Canada and the importance of, EU-Canada relations. Participating teams assume the role of policymakers and present creative solutions to common issues. From 2-3 May, 8 teams from the Toronto and the province of Ontario came together in Ottawa to participate in the semi-finals and finals hosted at Ottawa Art Gallery.
The panel of expert judges comprised Gabrielle Davis (Regional Coordinator of Citizenship and Marketing at the Royal Bank of Canada), Blanca Fernández Barjua (Head of the Economic and Trade Section at the Spanish Embassy), Achim Hurrelmann (Professor and Co-Director of the Centre of European Studies at Carleton University), Patrick Leblond (International Affairs Professor at University of Ottawa), John Pappas (Senior Director of Business Development at Moody's), Maxime Ramon (Counselor at the Belgian Embassy), Raul Razo-Garcia (Professor of Economics at Carleton University), Klaus Schindel (Counsellor, Head of Science; Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany), and Crina Viju-Miljusevic (EURUS Director at Carleton University). The Euro Challenge is implemented on the Delegation of the EU to Canada’s behalf by US-based, not-for-profit organization, W!se (Working in Support of Education).
The Euro Challenge promotes economic literacy, introduces students to the European Union and underscores the importance of transatlantic ties. Since its inception in the United States in 2006, thousands of U.S. students have benefited from participating in the event. The Canadian edition of the Challenge started in 2022. The top two teams receive monetary awards generously provided by Moody's Foundation and BNP Paribus, Montreal offer a mentoring opportunity to teams preparing for the competition.
For photos of the competition, please see: @eurochallenge.ca #EuroChallenge
For further information on the competition, please visit: www.euro-challenge.org
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Delegation of the European Union to Canada
150 Metcalfe St, Ottawa, ON K2P 1P1